Personal Social Media and the Hatch Act for Further Restricted Employees

Even if EPA is experiencing a lapse of appropriations, employees are still subject to all of the ethics laws and regulations, including the Hatch Act, which governs political activity even in your personal capacity.

The following prohibitions apply to all employees, all the time. You can never ever:

• Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions
• Run for partisan political office
• Use your EPA affiliation or title in connection with political activity
• Engage in political activity in the federal workplace, including telework locations (during the telework day)
• Coerce subordinates to engage in political activity
• Accept volunteer services from a subordinate
• Use your official authority to interfere with the outcome of an election
• Solicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before EPA

Further Restricted Employees

The following types of employees are “further restricted under the Hatch Act: career SES, Administrative Law Judges, and Public Health Service officers. The information on this page does not apply to Presidential Appointees; career employees who are GS, SL/ST, Title 42; AD appointees; or political appointees who are Schedule C or non-career SES. See instead “Hatch Act – Personal Social Media (lesser restricted employees)”.

Personal Social Media

Cover or header photo

You may display a party or campaign logo or candidate photograph as your cover or header photo on your social media accounts. This display, usually featured at the top of a social media profile, without more, is not improper political activity (defined as activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, partisan candidate, or partisan political group).

Profile page or profile picture

Even though you are further restricted, you may identify the political party you support on the profile page of your social media account. Doing that, without more, is not political activity. But be careful. Because a profile picture accompanies most actions on social media, you are not permitted, while on duty or in the workplace, to post, “share,” “tweet,” or “retweet” any items on personal social media because each such action would show your support for a partisan group or candidate in a partisan race, even if the content of the action is not about those entities.

Linking to political websites

Do not post a link to the website of a political party, partisan candidate, or partisan political group on your or anyone else’s social media pages or blogs. Don’t even share social media pages or their contents from these sources. It doesn’t matter if you do it on your own time and off federal premises. You can’t do it.

Advocacy for or against partisan candidates, political groups or parties

You may express your own opinions about a partisan group or candidate in personal social media while off duty and away from the workplace but you must be careful. Unlike “lesser restricted” employees, you can never post or link to campaign or other partisan material, cannot “share” their pages or content, and cannot retweet posts from their accounts. In other words, you can express your own opinion but you can’t “share” a post from a campaign’s social media accounts or retweet a message from a political party.

Writing your own personal blogs or social media posts

On your own time but never on federal property -- no matter what time of day or night -- you may write a blog or post about your personal support or opposition to partisan political candidates or parties. But you can’t ever use your official title or status to bolster your opinions and you can never suggest or ask readers to make partisan political contributions. Don’t ever post links to the contribution pages of any partisan entity, even on your own personal blogs or posts. Never post a comment in concert with a partisan political party, candidate for partisan political office, or a partisan political group.

Concerns for supervisors who “friend” subordinates in personal social media

If you are social media “friends” with any subordinates, then be particularly careful if you advocate for or against a political party, partisan political group, or candidate for partisan public office. It’s okay if your statements are directed to all of your social media “friends,” e.g., if you posted your opinion concerning a candidate in your “status” field. BUT you would be violating the Hatch Act if you specifically directed comments to you subordinates or to a subset of friends that includes subordinates by sending a “message” through your social media account. That’s purposefully targeting subordinates with the message, as opposed to the open posting in which subordinates see your opinions by chance. By the way, never send an email to your subordinates that’s directed at the success or failure of a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate. Be particularly careful about editorials, newspaper articles or political cartoons. It’s possible that the Office of Special Counsel might view those e-mails as ones that purposefully target subordinates, and thus conclude they are an improper use of your official authority or influence to affect the result of an election.

Receiving personal blogs or social media posts

Let’s say that one of your followers or friends posts a comment on your personal social media page that solicits partisan political contributions or posts a link to the contribution page. Well, we recognize that you’re not responsible for the acts of a third-party, even if that person’s actions appear on your social media account. If your “friend” posts a link to the partisan political contribution page, you cannot “like” the comment or otherwise post any comments that would tend to encourage (or discourage) other readers to donate or comment. While you’re not required to remove the original post – you just can’t comment on it – we encourage you to consider removing it from your page to avoid confusion.

Liking or following the social media pages of a political party, partisan candidate or political group

Even though you are “further restricted,” you may become a “friend” or “fan” of, or “like,” the social media page of a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate. But don’t do so during duty hours (even while teleworking) or while in the federal workplace.

Remember, you should never forward an invitation to a partisan political event to others. Don’t forget that you can never solicit, accept, or receive political contributions at any time. If you receive an invitation from the party, group, or candidate to a fundraising event via Facebook or X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, you are always prohibited from sharing that invitation with others. You are also prohibited from posting or linking to any material from a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate. You may never share Facebook pages or their contents from these sources or retweet posts from their X/Twitter accounts.

Expressing your personal opinion in social media

Even though you are further restricted, you may still express your opinion in social media. For example, you can be politically active on an issue that is not specifically identified with a political party, such as a constitutional amendment, referendum, approval of a municipal ordinance or any other question or issue of similar character or controversy.

You may also participate fully in public affairs, so long as you don’t violate the other provisions. Your participation in public affairs may not compromise your efficiency or integrity as an employee nor the neutrality, efficiency, or integrity of EPA.

Official social media pages

You cannot use official social media to advocate for or against a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate on the page. Any page created in your official capacity or used for official purposes must be limited to official business matters. EPA’s official social media must remain politically neutral and used only to share information about the agency's official business. Official pages cannot be linked to partisan political websites nor include any articles or commentary about an EPA official's speech or attendance at a partisan political event.

Messages from the White House about the shutdown

Even in your personal social media accounts, be careful about information from the White House. And in official social media, be extra careful. Remember, the President and the Vice President are exempt from the Hatch Act, but you are not. Don’t assume that the White House communications have been vetted to be compliant with your obligations under the Hatch Act. If you have questions, then please contact ethics@epa.gov.

Using an alias

Please do not attempt to create an alias in social media just so you can be a “fan” of, “like,” or “follow” a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate. You are still subject to the Hatch Act even if you act under an alias. And, really, would you do that? Please say no.